GB miss out on opening victory

The Standard Life GB women's team lost 81-59 to Croatia in Vodice on Monday evening in the first game of their build-up to this summer's Olympic Games.

The tie provided Standard Life GB head coach, Tom Maher with an initial opportunity to see his side in action after three weeks of training camp in Guildford.

However the powerful Croatians, who will take part in next month's Olympic qualifying tournament in Turkey, imposed themselves from the opening quarter as the visitors were given an immediate challenge on the road to London.

"We always knew it was going to be tough moving from the safe environment of training camp, where you can immediately correct mistakes, to a game where you have to get things right," said Maher.

"We have to accept that we'll need a few games to make the transition," he added.

Cheshire-born forward Jo Leedham had a team-high 15 points and added 6 rebounds for Great Britain, who trailed 35-23 at half-time.

Maher's side - with Chantelle Handy back in action after a foot injury - trimmed the deficit to 52-42 entering the fourth quarter but the hosts produced another surge to pull away.